- 1 out of 6 Canadians has arthritis, 60% of these are between the ages of 15 and 60 years of age.
- More than 4.5 million Canadians live with some form of arthritis.
- Approximately 55,000 British Columbians live with inflammatory arthritis.
- In 2001, there were 325,000 British Columbians living with osteoarthritis; this number is expected to rise to 560,000 by 2015.
- Arthritis and related conditions can lead to death. Two people out of 100,000 die from arthritis. A significant number more die from co-morbidities (deaths that occur as a result of having arthritis) like heart attack/stroke, lymphomas and certain types of cancer.
- Arthritis is among the most common chronic diseases in children. In Canada, one in 1,000 children has arthritis.
- Arthritis affects more adults than cancer, heart disease, respiratory conditions, and spinal cord trauma.
- Arthritis can be so debilitating that it dramatically reduces one's quality of life.
Arthritis facts